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Business of Supply

A Conservative supply motion asking the House to condemn the government’s economic record and call for a change in economic policies, citing a recession, weak growth projections from the Parliamentary Budget Officer and banks, and missed fiscal targets. Conservatives argued Canada has the second-worst unemployment rate in the G7, that job losses and high food, fuel and housing costs are hurting Canadians, and that the government should step back and scrap laws that slow development. Liberals replied that banks and economists do not support the recession claim, pointed to a strong job market and to measures like the grocery rebate, and described government investments in members’ ridings. Bloc members questioned spending $34 billion on an oil pipeline while claiming climate leadership, criticized the Alto high-speed rail project’s cost and ridership estimates, and asked for the government’s trade negotiating plans. Part of the time went to procedural exchanges over an apology demanded from one member and to members describing local unemployment and cost-of-living conditions in their ridings.Written by AI from the debate. Updated .

Official text

68 statements

John-Paul Danko

Liberal
“Canada's economy is doing well. We gained 88,000 jobs in May, unemployment is down, and wages are beating inflation. I want the Conservatives to admit that Canada is not broken.”

  • Question or comment in debate

    Signal 41 of 100

    Much of this statement went to praise, blame, greetings, routine procedure or general stories rather than reasons, requests or specific points.

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Official Hansard

Madam Speaker, we have heard the “Canada is broken” rhetoric over and over from Conservative members, in which they stand up and gleefully cheer for any downturn in the Canadian economy as an opportunity to score cheap political points. It is a sad reflection, and it is insulting to Canadians. It is insulting to businesses and to Canadian workers. Recently, the May job report showed 88,000 new jobs were created. Unemployment is dropping, wages are growing faster than inflation, and the International Monetary Fund has concluded that Canada has the strongest economy in the G7. Will the member opposite please acknowledge that Canada is not broken?

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Branden Leslie

Conservative
“Canadians are struggling with debt and the cost of food, and the government caused these problems. The government must admit it is failing and change direction.”

  • Reply to a debate question

    Relevance 100 of 100

    Of this reply, 100% addressed the question or point raised.

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Official Hansard

Madam Speaker, Canadians are thriving, despite the government. The member talks about this being just a technical recession. Are collectors just technically calling, asking for their money that has been loaned out? Is a mom just technically skipping meals so that she can afford to feed her daughter? Are these just technicalities? No. The crisis facing this country has been clear for many years. The government not only caused it, but refuses to accept that it is to blame for it. It is time to change course and recognize when the government is spinning its wheels and failing Canadians. Life has not been good for everyone. It is time to accept that and change direction. We can and must do better for the people we are here to represent.

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Grant Jackson

Conservative
“The Liberals are making the economy worse instead of fixing it, which hurts young people and Manitobans. I want to ask the member what it will take to get the government to admit its mistakes and change.”
Official Hansard

Madam Speaker, the analogy, I think, is just perfect. The Liberals are spinning their tires so hard in the mud, trying to prove to Canadians that they are improving the economic situation when they are in fact failing it, that they are actually going backward and making things worse. They are doing this instead of being stuck stationary and, certainly, instead of moving forward, which is exactly what people in this country need, particularly Manitobans and young Canadians across this country, from coast to coast to coast. I wonder if the member, who has been here a bit longer than I have, could provide a little more context about what it might take to finally get the Liberals to do a bit of self-reflection, eat a bit humble pie and maybe make a change so that Canadians are better off.

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Branden Leslie

Conservative
“The government needs to admit its policies have made life too expensive. Instead of blaming others, it should take responsibility and use Conservative ideas to fix things.”

  • Reply to a debate question

    Signal 32 of 100

    Much of this statement went to praise, blame, greetings, routine procedure or general stories rather than reasons, requests or specific points.

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  • Reply to a debate question

    Relevance 92 of 100

    Of this reply, 90% addressed the question or point raised.

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Official Hansard

Madam Speaker, I want to believe the Liberals have that in them. The last 10 years have not shown me that they have an ability to accept things as they are. It is like they do not talk to people who live in the real world and see the cost pressures they are facing. One thing that really bothers me is that in government, just like in life, it is okay to sometimes say, “We were wrong. We messed up.” We do not have to continuously hide behind the fact that things are not going okay and try to blame everybody else. The government should take a bit of responsibility. The other day, I heard a minister try to blame Stephen Harper. It is 11 years later. It is time to accept that things have not been going well because of the policies and accept the ideas that are coming collaboratively from the Conservatives to try to move this country forward. Change the policies and change course so that we can all be better off.

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Marilène Gill

Bloc Québécois
“I want to know if the Conservatives think a wealth fund built on debt causes inflation. I also want to know if they think government spending on major projects and western pipelines causes inflation.”
Official Hansard

Madam Speaker, we can see my colleague’s love for his constituents and his desire to ensure that Canada’s economy comes out okay, if not better. I did not get a satisfactory answer to my questions when we talked about rigour and transparency. The Conservative Party is talking about inflationary measures, and I was wondering whether my colleague thinks that a sovereign wealth fund is an inflationary measure since the government’s sovereign wealth fund is not being created with money that has already been saved. It is a debt. I am wondering the same thing about the government’s major projects and the pipelines in western Canada. The government is spending money, but do the Conservatives consider that to be inflationary spending?

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Branden Leslie

Conservative

Linked statement

“Investing in Canada is a good idea, but the government should not borrow money to do it. Canada should create wealth by using its oil and gas instead of taking on more debt.”

  • Reply to a debate question

    Relevance 97 of 100

    Of this reply, 95% addressed the question or point raised.

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Official Hansard

Madam Speaker, Canada led the way with this idea that we could borrow our way to calling something wealth. The idea of a sovereign wealth fund is a good one, if we are a country that is in a position to create wealth and has executed on the idea of creating wealth. Instead, we decided to keep our oil and gas in the ground as much as possible over the last decade. The idea of investing in projects in Canada is a good one. Financing it entirely based on debt and calling that progress is just another example of how the government seems to refuse to accept that things have not been going well for Canadians and that its policies are to blame. We can and must do better.

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Arielle Kayabaga

Liberal
“Canadians understand that recent years have been hard because of the pandemic and unfair tariffs. I want to know why the opposition member seems happy when Canadians are struggling.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, obviously, Canadians are not slow. They understand that transitions are tough. They understand the kinds of situations we have been in in the last couple of years, whether they were because of COVID or the unjustified tariffs that Canadians have experienced across the board. I am curious to know what the member opposite thinks Canadians think of him and his party when they see him get excited about Canadians not doing well.

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Branden Leslie

Conservative
“Electing a Conservative government would not be hard, and it would make Canada prosperous again.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the member says transitions are tough. That is another odd excuse. It would not be a tough transition to elect a Conservative government so that this country can once again prosper.

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